In conjunction with the 75th anniversary of the Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies, a new exhibition has been mounted on the third floor of Butler Library (on either side of the circulation desk). The exhibit consists of eight cases.
The first case describes the earliest Hebrew classes (taught by Columbia founder Samuel Johnson) through to the hiring of Richard James Horatio Gottheil in 1890 as the Professor of Rabbinical Literature.
The second case moves to Salo Baron, hired in 1930 as the first professor of Jewish History in an American university.
A feature on Salo Baron would not be complete, of course, without mention of his incredible impact on the Judaica collection in the library, which is featured in case three.
Case four details the establishment of the Center for Israeli Studies in 1950, the first such institution created following the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. The CIS’s name was updated shortly thereafter, in 1952, with the addition of “Jewish” (to become the Center for Israel and Jewish Studies) because classes on Jewish history were incorporated in the Center’s work – and Baron’s teaching – from the very outset.
On the West side of the circulation desk, we learn about how Yiddish came to Columbia in 1952, with the establishment of the Atran Professorship for Yiddish Language, Literature, originally situated in the Department of General and Comparative Linguistics.
Case six details the expansion of the Center for Israel and Jewish Studies in the 1970s, including a (discarded) plan for a standalone building for Jewish Studies (see image, right). Case seven features the Yosef Yerushalmi era, and of course, his library contributions, and the final case features Jewish Studies as it stands today, with a close partnership between the Norman E. Alexander Library and the IIJS.
The text of the exhibition was written by Samuel Klein Roche, CC ’25, and the beautiful layout and design was prepared by Joseph Hedaya, GSAPP ’26.
All are welcome to come and visit the exhibition; for non-Columbia affiliates and tours, please contact Michelle Margolis, Norman E. Alexander Librarian for Jewish Studies.
Please send me the exact location of this exhibit and the visiting hours. Also, the closing day.
As of now, the exhibition is scheduled to be up through the end of February. The exhibit is in the eight cases (four on each side) near the circulation desk on the third floor of Butler.